Hey Doc! Just mixed soil and gave it some tea. Hopefully in 30 days the cuts will be ready.
Been reading on High Brix. One of the articles stated microbes eat exuded root carbs, then excrete humic acids. These humic acids ionize the minerals which now become available for plant intake. Is this correct? Im confused why more minerals equal higher brix.
Yep. It's a bit more complicated, of course, but the basics are exactly what you said.
Brix is a meausurement of sugar AND minerals. High sugar alone does not equal high brix.
The plant feeds the microbes and the microbes feed the plant.....symbiosis. But you can't just add Humic acid and get the same results! It's much more subtle than that.
The minerals are needed for all the enzymatic pathways in the plant's cells, as well as the microbes. The mineral balance in the soil also buffers pH.
But there's another half of the story: foliar feeding.
When the sugar/mineral content in the leaves increases, the plant makes more sugars and certain proteins which are sent down to the roots and excreted as "root exudates," which feed the microbes. Depending on what the plants makes, these exudates might tell the microbes to fetch magnesium and sulfur.....or iron and manganese.....or....you get the picture.
Phosphates are used by the plant to transfer minerals and make sugar, so phosphorus levels must be adequate, and calcium is necessary for all living cells and for energy production in the cell, so calcium levels must be adequate.
Basically, think about a rich, mineralized soil on a lush island that has never been farmed....that's what we're trying to create with all these minerals.
But wait! There's more!!!!
It's not just minerals +microbes + water= healthy plants........
The electrical conductivity of the soil is paramount, as is the cation exchange rate. This stuff can be measured and quantified with the term
ERGS Energy Released per Gram per Second.
ERGS are kept high and steady by periodic remineralization and being careful to have a good supply of humus in the soil......monthly nutrient drenches help accomplish this.
So, it's far more than just adding NPK Ca Mg Fe Z to the soil and watering with biologically active teas! That's certainly part of the picture.....but only 1/4 of the whole picture.
Energy of the soil
Cation exchange rate of the soil
Nutrients in the soil
Microbial action in the soil
I've been paying great attention to the nutrients and the microbes. I've been adding gypsum and lots of micronutes/minerals for a while now and it has helped the quality of my produce.....
But only in the last few weeks have I been learning about soil energy and CE......so I'm only half way there as far as awareness. There's no telling what is going to happen when I get all this dialed in.
